Daily Outrage: Cognitive problems rampant among ex-players

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WHAT: A new study sponsored by the National Football League found that Alzheimer’s and other memory-related diseases seem to have been diagnosed among former players much more often than in the national population, including 19 times the normal rate for men ages 30 to 49. Scrutiny of brain injuries in football players has escalated in recent years, with prominent professionals reporting cognitive problems.

WHAT IT MEANS: The findings have strong implications for youth and college teams, which tend to adopt NFL safety policies and whose players want to be like the pros. Hundreds of on-field concussions are sustained among school players every week, with many injuries never diagnosed or treated.